Blister in the Sun

If the title of my blog or the picture at the top didn't already give it away, I am a red head! With that comes fair skin and the requirement for constant protection from the sun. After living like this for almost 23 years, one would think I am a pro at lathering on the sunscreen and avoiding sunburns. Unfortunately this isn't so, instead I need at least one yearly reminder that sunburns hurt...a lot. This year the burn came early after I spent 8 or so hours in the sun playing lacrosse. The tricky thing about sunburns is that you don't feel the pain until later in the evening and while you are out in the sun getting the burn.

In August I decided to see how strange of a sunburn I could manage to get. Every year Tribal West runs a summer camp and I have always been assigned to line/paint the fields (not just one but three!). This task generally takes anywhere from 4-6 hours if you are doing it correctly. Since August is generally hot I decided to wear shorts and a tee-shirt with a pair of TOMS but forgot about the water and sunscreen. Part of lining the field is bending over and to spray a few lines by hand which lead to the first random sunburn line...right above the top of my shorts on my back. Alright so that isn't that weird but for a mormon girl who doesn't wear two pieces and keeping that portion of my back hidden from the sun; it's an unusual place to burn. The next area which I don't quite understand, is the skin from my ankles to the bottom of my calves...remember I was wearing shorts and a little more than that was showing.

The moral of the story is wear your sunscreen so you don't end up with skin cancer (This is not saying I have been told that I have skin cancer). Also if you wear your sunscreen you will save yourself a lot of pain. Obviously this post is not for those who bronze well but more to those with fair skin or anybody who wants to make fun of my ignorance!

Dabbling in the Deep...

I don't think that I am the kind of person that spouts off deep thoughts continually but occasionally I find something good to say. Here is my attempt to discuss something a little bigger than my day-to-day activities and encounters. Over the past year I have tried to adopt this way of thinking and it has become somewhat of a mantra for my life (for lack of a better explanation). Disclaimer: This is not geared towards anything and is not the solution for everything, so if it offends someone it is completely unintentional.

Here is the big idea I am attempting to apply to my life...to a certain extent YOU choose how YOU feel. This may not seem that profound to many, but I feel like it can apply to most cases in life. I am not saying that a person mourning the loss of a loved one wants to feel horrible, but they can choose to let that event control and potentially ruin the rest of their life or they can use it to their benefit to become a stronger individuals.

I guess this idea applies most in day-to-day circumstances such as being offended, being sad, being angry, being happy etc. It is impossible to go through life without encountering someone who doesn't think exactly the same way you do. With different beliefs, ideals and opinions something will be said that you may not disagree with or is offensive to you or people you know. Some things are unintentional while others are full on attacks which are the hardest to ignore, BUT HERE IS THE BEST PART! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE OFFENDED!!! Take it for what it is, another person's opinion which doesn't define you or even change what you believe. Yes, what was said may be rude and extremely insensitive but just take it as something said by someone who probably doesn't mean much to you. If it is someone close then that is all the more reason to brush it off...hurt feelings and bitterness stand in the way of reconciliation and will cause more long-term damage.

When I talk about how this applies to being sad, it obviously does not apply to those who are depressed because there is a lot more to it and it is much harder to deal with. For the most part when I say you can choose not to be sad it is easiest to relate to breaking-up with someone. Generally as you are dating a person you are allowing that individual to know you on a closer level and become more vulnerable as you let them into your life. We all know that many relationships don't last because that person isn't necessarily the person you see yourself spending the rest of your life with. On the way to finding "the one" there are the occasional break-ups and with those can come a lot of pain. When those times come around one can either choose to shutdown or get through it (time-frames will vary from person to person). I like to look at it this way I can either hide from this person and hate them the rest of my life or move on to something even better! I apologize if this isn't coming off very clear but without giving specific examples of people I know, it's a little harder to explain.

Since this is my blog/journal I can share my own personal experiences. I was dating this guy for a little while and during the whole break-up I was a little shocked and wasn't quite sure what to say, instead I was more focused on interpreting what was said. Initially I was thinking that I want to get as far away from this person as possible, which turned into frustration about the whole thing. That evening I allowed myself to be upset but then the more I thought about it, I decided that it wasn't worth being upset and creating unnecessary awkwardness between the two of us and others around. I think that this is one of the changing points in my thinking, where I truly believed that if I didn't want to continue feeling hurt I didn't have to!

I hope that I explained this idea adequately enough for everyone. I will stop here because this post is already pretty long and has absolutely no pictures, which will probably lose a few readers quickly. If you made it all the way through, I hope it made sense. One of the last things I will say is that I know being able to turn to the Lord in times of need really helps me get through the hard times and gives me the opportunity to change my attitude for the better. By choosing to change how I feel, I think I am better equipped to take on the challenges that come my way.

Getting Caught Up

Obviously I am horrible at keeping by blog up to date, so I usually have to do a lot of catching up. I have decided that since this is pretty much my journal I should try to post more often and be more honest about things (not that I lie all the time but I am not always completely honest about how I feel in different circumstances and with the things I experience). So here it goes...

BYU WOMEN"S LACROSSE
This past year I decided to try-out for the women's lacrosse team at BYU, and by some miracle I made the team! Being on a college team takes a lot of time and commitment which is hard when you are trying to juggle a job and going to school full time (not that many of the girls weren't just as busy). For the first semester we had a few scrimages against in state teams and focused mainly on conditioning and stick skills. Then when winter semester finally came around the traveling and games really began to pick up. We had a game mostly ever week if not every other. Traveling with the team was the best part because you had a better chance to get to know the girls because you spent so much time with them. There are so many amazing girls on the team both in lacrosse and in personality. One would think that everything was perfect but I kind of felt like I wasn't really a part of the team. The girls were really nice but it seemed like everyone had a group and I didn't really fit in any of them.

Besides feeling like an outsider I didn't see much playing time, which I don't mind as much. This year was more about being able to practice with a team and being able to play my favorite sport. When a coach doesn't get the chance to see you play much they don't understand how that player works. In high school Soni and Eugena knew my strengths and weaknesses on and off the field and knew when I needed to come out of the game or practice. They also knew what I was capable of and always knew what to expect. With a new coach you have reprove what you can do and with a 4 year break between when I finished high school and playing for BYU it was a little harder to impress them.

The most frustrating part about this past year was being injured constantly. I always seem to get hurt doing the dumbest things, which makes for horrible stories later on.
Over the two semesters I managed to sprain both ankles (which had some pretty intense bruising) and had shin splints (not as bad as Nash but they still hurt). Of course all of the injuries occur after I finally start feeling like I was getting into shape, which was the most frustrating part of all.

Now the question is do I play next year?.....................

BOYS
This is a completely frustrating part of life for me. I was dating this boy sometime around November and initially I was entirely uninterested. I won't go into that more besides telling you that my roommates and a random friend or two can attest to the fact that I didn't want to date him. Eventually I talked myself into giving him a chance, and long story short we only dated for about 2 weeks. Pretty lame I know! The lesson I learned from all of this is to FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS!!!

Besides that lovely dating experience, it seems like the boys who I am actually interested in never seem to get the hints. The problem with just going up to the person and telling them or asking them out, is that it is usually a friend who you don't want to lose. The boys status currently is just frustrated....

Fun or maybe not so fun facts to find out about me...
Here are just a few things about me that others may or may not know.

• I love movies and own just over 300 along with a few of my favorite seasons!
• I have gotten a lot better about not letting others offend me-this took a while
• I am extremely sarcastic and if you set yourself up for it, a sarcastic remark will be coming your way!
• Strung 12 of the 26 sticks from the BYU women's lacrosse team...pretty sick of stringing right now...taught myself how to string when I was in high school.
• I like my space! So constant touching, poking and standing too close drives me nuts...expect to see me leaning back or moving away.
  

DUSTING OFF THE KEYBOARD...

I have finally decided that it is about time to update my blog. I think that a year plus break was long enough. For those of you who have recently stumbled upon my blog (because you wanted the link and I obliged) I help you prepare for what is to come.

FIRST...I am very random in what I post and how I say things. I apologize if my train of thought leaves you completely lost. It makes sense in my head but not always when I try explain it to others. So don't feel bad because you are probably not alone!

SECOND...I am horrible at taking pictures so many times there are very long posts with absolutely no pictures involved.

LAST...I constantly make fun of myself and the stupid things I do. If you can't laugh and make fun of yourself then what is there to do in life?Alright, to start off this post there is a warning, this isn't the happiest post ever but I wanted to write a little bit about my grandpa. My Grandpa Erickson was admitted to the hospital on New Year's Day because he was having trouble breathing. Hoping to leave the hospital by the end of the week, he wasn't thrilled by the prospects of living with oxygen the rest of his life but excited to leave. Then the doctors discovered that my grandpa had a leaky heart valve which was causing the fluid build-up in his lungs and making it difficult to breath. A little while after getting heart surgery he was sent to another place to recover. Then this past Thursday he was rushed to the hospital because he has pneumonia. Now he is still in the hospital again but doesn't seem to think he'll get better.

My Grandpa is a hilarious man because he isn't afraid to say anything and will usually say whatever comes to his mind. He has always been a big, tall man but soft and loving. He likes to tell me that he misses me coming over and having breakfast when I had school close to his house. Every morning he would call to ask when I as coming over and once I made it he had some sudoku and other puzzle ready to do with me and explain to me. Then he would make what he calls "mush" (oatmeal) and would tell me how good it was for you as he added a chunk of butter, then make some toast and add more butter to that too.Grandpa Erickson is always one to crack jokes and just make everything enjoyable. I have been lucky to have all four grandparents around while growing up and I am not ready to lose one. I hope he gets better soon and returns to being his own funny self.

Don't forget to enjoy life and find fun with the simple things in life!